Control means for rolling rack of bale wagon

ABSTRACT

An agricultural bale wagon having a rolling rack which is movable rearwardly incident to tiers of bales being loaded onto the forward end of the load bed of the wagon, the rolling rack being movable in loading and unloading directions by a hydraulic cylinder unit which actuates a cable connected to the rolling rack and the hydraulic cylinder being controlled by a fluid circuit including certain control valves which are shiftable to permit movement of the rolling rack rearwardly when a new tier of bales is loaded onto the forward end of the load bed, but prevent rearward movement thereof immediately upon said new tier of bales being fully loaded onto said bed and the preceding load correspondingly having been shifted rearwardly.

[ Jan. 18, 1972 CONTROL MEANS FOR ROLLING RACK 0F BALE WAGON [72]Inventor: Raymond E. Fisher, Reedley, Calif. [73] Assignee: Sperry RandCorporation, New Holland,

[22] Filed: Mar. 31, 1970 [2]] Appl. No.: 24,153

[52] [1.8. CI ..2l4/6 B, 214/82 [51] Int. Cl ..B65g 57/32 [58] FieldofSearch ..2l4/6 B, 82, 83.22

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,502,229 3/1970 Butler..2l4/6 B 3,502,230 3/1970 Grey et al. 3,401,810 9/1968 Grey ..2l4/6 BPrimary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-Robert J. SparAttorney-C. l-lercus Just, Joseph A. Brown, John C. Thompson, James J.Kennedy and George C. Bower [57] ABSTRACT An agricultural bale wagonhaving a rolling rack which is movable rearwardly incident to tiers ofbales being loaded onto the forward end of the load bed of the wagon,the rolling rack being movable in loading and unloading directions by ahydraulic cylinder unit which actuates a cable connected to the rollingrack and the hydraulic cylinder being controlled by a fluid circuitincluding certain control valves which are shiftable to permit movementof the rolling rack rearwardly when a new tier of bales is loaded ontothe forward end of the load bed, but prevent rearward movement thereofimmediately upon said new tier of bales being fully loaded onto said bedand the preceding load correspondingly having been shifted rearwardly.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENIEn Jma 19. 2

wi l UF 3 IINVIENTOR. RAYMOND- E. FISHER PATENTEB mu 8 [1-172 SHEET 2 OF3 TUN CONTROLMEANS FORROLLING RACK F BALE WAGON CROSS REFERENCES TORELATED APPLICATIONS The present. invention essentially controlsimprovements over copending applications Ser. No. 755,l4l, now US. Pat.No. 3,502,230, filed Aug. 26, 1968 and Ser. No. 828,883, filed May 29,1969 and both'owned by the assignee of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The structure comprising the presentinvention essentially is an improvement over the structure of Ser.No.'828,883. Said pendingapplication pertains to a bale wagon in whichbales are loaded onto a first receiving table which sequentially movestwo or more such bales, in end-to-end relationship, onto a secondtransfer table, where a tier of such bales is accumulated. When a fullcomplement of such bales for said tier has been-loaded uponthe secondtransfer table, the latter is elevated from a somewhat horizontalposition to asubstantially vertical position to dispose the tier ofbales either against a rolling rack upon the load bed of the wagon oragainst the forward face of a previously deposited tier of bales. Alloperation of the various receiving andtransfer tables, rolling rack, andfinal unloading of the load bed is accomplished by hydraulic means andsuitable fluid circuits and various control valves which are operated byappropriate cams, trip members, and various other appropriate meansdescribed indetail in both of said pending applications set forth above,in regard to which the present invention is an improvement.

One of the difiiculties experienced in regard to operation of theinvention comprising the subject matter of Ser. No. 828,883, inparticular, is that when the load bed receives successive tiers of baleswhich are sequentially loaded upon the same from the forward end, therolling rack which correspondingly moves rearward upon the loadbed mustpermit movement of the entire load rearwardly each time a new tier ofbales is deposited on the forward end of the load bed, but said loadingrack must be restrained against rearward movement except when a newlyformed tier of bales is to be deposited against the forward end of theaccumulated load upon the load bed. 7

The mechanism, and especially the fluid circuit which controls theoperation of the rolling rack in the structure comprising the subjectmatter of Ser. No. 828,883, includes a relief valve which normallymaintains a limited amount of pressure within the system which restrainsthe rolling rack from rearward movement during the intervals of timebetween each elevating movement of a new tier of bales against theforward face of the load previously positioned upon the load bed. It canbe appreciated that particularly when the balewagon is partially loadedand as it progressively receives additional tiers of bales, the forceimposed upon the rolling rack as the wagon rolls over a field,especially in view of the normally downward and rearward slope of theload bed which facilitates the loading of the bale wagon imposes aprogressive increase in force upon the rolling rack which attempts toresist rearward movement of the load.

Under the foregoing circumstances, it has been found that the use of arelief valve in the fluid system to resist up to a predetermined amountof force is satisfactory especially when only a minor part of an entireload is imposed against the rolling rack. However, particularly when thewagon is nearly fully loaded, it has been found that primarily due tothe jostling of the wagon and load overan uneven field, an undesireddischarge of fluid through the relief valve occurs on such occasions andpermits the rolling rack to be moved rearwardly inbetween the times whennew tiers of bales are elevated by the transfer table onto the load bed.This disrupts .theeven loading of the wagon and even results in balestumbling and otherwise being disarranged upon the wagon or dumpedtherefrom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the principal purpose of the presentinvention to provide improved means in the hydraulic system whichactuates and controls the movement of the rolling rack of anagricultural bale wagon of the type described above and in particular toprovide positive means to lock the rolling rack against rearwardmovement except when the transfer table is being actuated to elevate anew tier of bales either initially against the rolling rack orsubsequentially against the tier of bales last loaded upon the load bed,and also releasing the positive locking'means when a new tier of balesis to be loaded onto the load bed. V

It is another object of the invention to provide a lockout valve in thecontrol system for the hydraulic cylinder which controls the movement ofthe rolling rack, said lockout valve being actuated in response tomovements of the hydraulic means which move the transfer table inoperative direction by which each new tier of bales is elevated toloaded position upon the load bed.

It is a further object of the invention to arrange such positive lockingmeans for the rolling rack to operate in such manner that it willfunction as aforesaid to control the rearward movement of the rollingrack during loading operations but not interfere with the same duringunloading operations for which the bale wagon also is adapted to beoperated.

Still another object of the invention is to provide positive lockingmeans for the rolling rack which are operable automatically,particularly during loading operations, without requiring furtherattention by an operator of the bale wagon and the loading means meanstherefor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a bale wagon inwhich several different positions of the transfer table are shownrespectively in full and broken lines to illustrate certain functions ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of-the load bed of the bale wagon shown in FIG. 1,portions of the bed being cut away to illustrate certain details of thecable and cylinder of the actuating means, and

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the various hydraulic components andhydraulic circuitry necessary for operation of the receiving table,transfer table, load bed and rolling rack of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Especially in view of the factthat the present invention primarily comprises an improvement over thesubject matter of pending application Ser. No. 828,883, a description ofthe basic and essential features of the bale wagon structure covered bysaid pending application is set forth hereinafter to a sufficient extentthat the advantages. of the improvement comprising the present inventioncan be appreciated and understood. Further, certain details inparticular of the hydraulic system by which the various elements of thebale wagon are activated and controlled are shown only diagrammatically.Operation of certain of these elements, and especially the controlvalves for the hydraulic cylinder units, is initiated by certain tripmechanisms, abutting means, cams and the like, details of which are notshown in the drawings of the present application but are illustrated anddescribed primarily in copending application Ser. No. 755,141, now US.Pat. No. 3,502,230 to which attention is directed for a more completedescription and illustration of the same.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1, the bale wagon ofthis invention is provided with a chassis, indicated generally as 10,mounted on a pair of wheels, only the right wheel 12 being shown inFIG. 1. The chassis is formed of left and right longitudinally extendingrails 16 of which only one rail is shown. Although it is notspecifically shown, the forward ends of the longitudinally extendingrails 16 converge in a clevis assembly which adapts the wagon to besecured to a tractor, or other towing vehicle, located at the frontthereof. Power for the wagon is obtained from the tractor power takeoffin a conventional manner, but not specifically shown.

Mounted at the forward end of the chassis and extending transverselythereto is a first receiving table generally indicated by the numeral150. The receiving table 150 comprises two transversely extending beams152 and 154 which are mounted on a forwardly extending horizontalportion 156 of an L-shaped structure indicated generally at 158. The L-shaped structure includes a rear, upwardly extending leg portion 160which is pivotally secured at 162 to spaced brackets 164, only one ofwhich is shown, mounted on the rightand left-hand side rails 16. Ahydraulic cylinder 502 is pivotally secured by means of a pivot pin 166to the forwardly extending leg 168 which is mounted on a transverseframe member 170. The rod end 504 of the cylinder 502 is pivotallysecured to an arm 172 which is welded, or otherwise secured, to the Lshaped member 158 of receiving table 150. As the cylinder S02 isextended, the receiving table 150 will be swung upwardly about its pivotpoint 162, thereby transferring any bales which have been accumulated onthe table, for example, bale A, onto the second, or transfer table 200.The transferred bale A will assume the position shown at B in F IG. 1.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art, that the bales A arefirst introduced to receiving table 150 by means of a pickup, not shown,which lifts bales from the ground and directs them to the receivingtable. The pickup means, well known in the art, is more fully disclosedand described in the U.S. Pat. to Grey et al. 3,300,424, issued July 11,1967.

The transfer table 200 is also mounted on a pair of L-shaped structures202, only one being shown, each having a forwardly extending leg portion204 and an upwardly extending rear leg portion 206 which is disposed atright angles to the lower leg portion 204. Each of the upwardlyextending leg portions 206 are secured by pivot pin 208 to a dependinglug 210 mounted on the forward end portion 252 of load bed 250. A bedsurface 215 of the transfer table 200 is formed across the legs 204 andprovides a surface upon which bale tiers are formed. When the transfertable 200 is in its normal tier forming position, it is disposed in theposition shown by the dot-dash lines shown in FIG. 1. When the requisitenumber of bales B have been accumulated. on table 200, to form a tier ofbales thereon, a hydraulic cylinder 508 is actuated, by trip means, notshown, so that it extends and causes the table 200 to swing upwardlyabout its pivot point 208. In this manner, the bale tier formed on thetransfer table is transferred to a rearwardly disposed load bed, or loadtable 250. Anchor end 510 of cylinder 508 is secured by means of a pivotpin 216 to the load carrying bed 250. The rod end 512 of cylinder 508 ispivotally connected by means ofa pivot pin 218 to a rearwardly extendingmember 220, which is fixed by its forward end to the rear portion of theL-shaped structure 202.

The load table, or load carrying bed 250, includes a platform assembly254 which is mounted about a pair of transversely rearwardly disposedpivot pins 256. The pivot pins are supported on upwardly and rearwardlyextending brackets 258 which are secured to the rear end of thelongitudinally extending frame members 16. As the stack is formed onload bed 250, the second table 200 is swung upwardly to deposit its tierof bales 8 upon the load bed, whereupon the bales B assume the positionshown at C in FIG. 1. As the first bale tier is deposited on the bed, arolling rack 300 is contacted by the bales and forced rearwardly.Successive tiers of bales placed on the load bed will cause a continuedrearward movement of the rack. The bale tiers are laterally confined byrightand left-hand side shields 260, only the right-hand side shieldbeing shown in FIG. 1. Each of the side shields 260 is supported byupwardly extending front and rear struts 262 and 264, respectively.

A plurality of upwardly extending forks 296 are mounted at the rear ofthe platform assembly 254. These forks 296 are mounted in fixed spacedapart relation and limit the rearward movement of the rolling rack.

The rolling rack 300 is mounted on the platform assembly 254 of the loadcarrying bed 250 and is adapted to support a stack of bales in a mannerbest shown in FIG. 1. The rolling rack comprises two spaced-apart forks302, as shown in H0. 2, which are mounted for movement in a fore-and-aftdirection along platform 254. Each fork 302 includes a transverselyextending web portion 304, a rearwardly extending inner aligning portion306 and a forwardly extending outer portion 308 which is adapted to diginto the bales loaded against the fork and provide lateral stabilitytherefor. A pair of trolley assemblies 310 are adapted to carry theforks 302 for movement along platform 254. Each trolley assembly 310 isadapted to run in a groove 312 formed in the platform assembly as shownin FIG. 2. A member 314, extending transversely to the grooves 312,connects each of the trolley assemblies, as shown in the drawings.

Each assembly 310 includes a longitudinally extending member 316 whichis welded or otherwise fixed to an end of transverse member 314. Frontand rear lower rollers 318 and 320, respectively, are mounted on themember 316 in a conventional fashion, said rollers being adapted tocontact the lower surface 322 of the platform assembly 254 adjacent thefore-and-aft extending grooves 312. An upper rear roller 324 is alsomounted on member 316, and is adapted to contact the upper surface 326of the platform assembly 254. With this construction, it will be evidentthat member 316 may move only in a fore-and-aft direction, since itsvertical movement is limited by rollers 318, 320 and 324, and thetransverse movement of the member 316 is limited by member 314 and theouter edge of groove 312.

Each of the forks 302 is welded to a transversely extending member 320which is triangular in cross section, the outer flange 308 being weldedto the end of member 330. A pair of forwardly extending mountingbrackets 332 are welded at their rearward ends to the triangular framemember 330 and pivotally secured by the forward ends to the members 316,by means not shown.

The rolling rack is adapted to be advanced forwardly and rearwardly bymeans of a cable 342 which is connected to the rolling rack between thebed means 250 and a hydraulic cylinder 528. During the loadingoperation, as tiers of bales are loaded onto the load bed, fluid isdisplaced from the cylinder 528 and is directed back to a reservoir 514to permit the rack to be moved rearwardly as the tiers of bales areloaded onto the forward portion of the bed. The cylinder also may bepositively controlled for forward movement of the rolling rack as willbe described in detail hereinafter.

When the operator of the bale wagon desires to unload his wagon one baleat a time, the bale tiers C are moved from the bale carrying bed 250back onto the inclined transfer table 200, where a cross conveyor 350engages the end bale of the lowest layer of bales and shifts the balesto the right for discharge. A bale engaging means 352 has previouslyengaged the layers of bales above the lowermost layer of bales andshifts the bales to the right for discharge. A bale engaging means 352has previously engaged the layers of bales above the lowermost layer tobe discharged, as illustrated in FIG. 1, and shifted them upwardly onthe bed surface 215. The cross conveyor, in part, comprises a conveyorchain 354 having a pair of paddles 358 mounted thereon. The paddles 358are adapted to contact the left-hand end of the bale layers and shiftthem to the right for discharge, directed toward the observer as viewedin FIG. 1.

The bale engaging hooks 352 are controlled by the conveyor 350 so thatthey will assume a first operative mode in the up position, or baleengaging position, separating the upper bales from the lower layer ofbales and a second operative mode, or retracted position. The operationis more fully described in the aforementioned application Ser. No.755,141, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,230. When the transfer table 200 is inits inclined, or single bale unloading position, as shown in FIG. 1, thebales disposed above the discharged layer will shift downwardly as thebale hooks are retracted until they engage box beam 298, mounted at theforward edge of load bed 250. The box beam member extends laterallyoutwardly of each side of the'platform assembly, as shown in FIG. 2, toprovide additional support for the bales being discharged.

. The bale engaging means 352 comprises a plurality of hooks 362 whichare secured to a rotatable rock shaft 364. Shaft 364 is journaledbeneath the surface of transfer bed 200 by means not shown. The balehooks 362, of which one is shown, are adapted to pivot upwardly throughapertures, not shown, in the surface of transfer bed 200 to engagebales, as shown by the dot-dash lines in FIG. l. The bale hooks have afirst operative mode, or position, wherein they extend upwardly throughthe table and engage the upper bales of a tier separating the upperbales from the lower bales as shown. The second operative mode, orposition, is a retracted position shown by the solid lines in FIG. 1.

As tiers of bales are formed on the transfer bed 200 and are liftedupwardly by the transfer bed 200 to load bed 250, they will firstcontact rolling rack 300 and force it rearwardly. The movement of therolling rack is controlled by cylinder 528, the rack beinginterconnected to the cylinder by means of a cable 342. One end 342e ofthe cable 342 is connected to the rear end of platfonn assembly 354,with intermediate portions of the cable being disposed over the first,second, third, and fourth sheaves 3420, 342b, 342e, and 342d,respectively, and the opposite end being fixed to the forward end of theplatform assembly at 342f. A pulley mounting bracket 5280 is disposed atthe end of cylinder rod 528b, as shown in FIG. 2.

Sheaves 342a and 342d are rotatably mounted in side-byside relation inbracket 5280, while sheave 342b is mounted at the rear end of platformassembly 254 and sheave 3420 is mounted at the forward end of theplatform assembly. The cylinder 528 is fixedly connected to the forwardend of the platform assembly 254 at its anchor end 528a. An intermediateportion of the cable 342, between sheaves 342b and 342C, is fixedlysecured to the transverse frame member 314, as shown in FIG. 2 are 342g.As the tiers of bales are loaded onto the load bed, the rolling rackwill be shifted rearwardly. When the load bed is fully loaded, the forks302 will overlie the forks 296 mounted on the platform assembly 254,with the rearwardly extending flange portion 306 being disposed to theinside of forks 296.

When a single bale unloading operation is desirable, it is firstnecessary to position the transfer table 200 in its inclined single baleunloading position shown by the solid lines in FIG. 1. This is done in aconventional manner by actuating cylinder 208. Once the second table hasbeen positioned in its inclined rides. Rotation of the cross conveyorwill result in actuation of the bale engaging means 352 and with thepaddles 358 engaging the bales and discharging them from the wagon.

HYDRAULIC SYSTEM As the bale wagon of this invention is propelledforwardly over a field, it will pick up bales laying upon the ground bymeans, not shown, and, as indicated above, lift them upwardly initiallyto a position indicated at A in FIG. 1. The first bale will be conveyedtoward the observer, as seen in FIG. I, by the conveyor chain indicatedat 358, and when a second bale is picked up and loaded onto the firsttable, the first bale will contact a trip lever, not shown, butdescribed in Ser. No. 755,!41, and the second bale will contact a secondtrip lever I76, likewise not shown herein, causing the valve 506 toshift from its normal position shown in FIG. 3 to that position wherefluid will be directed from pump500 into the first table cylinder 502and thereby cause the cylinder to extend and force the table upwardly toshift the layer of bales onto the forward edge of the second table. Asthe table 150 attains its fully raised position, the valve 506 isshifted back to its normal position by a trip mechanism not material tothe present invention, and the table will then fall to its loweredposition, forcing the fluid trapped within the cylinder 502 through thevalve 506 back to the fluid reservoir 514.

As additional pairs of bales are picked up they will be formed into arow on the first table and transferred to the second table until fourrows have been accumulated upon the second table. At this point therearward layer of bales on the table will contact a trip lever, notshown, but described in Ser.

No. 755,141, now US. Pat. No. 3,502,230 and move it back to a latchedposition, the second table valve 516 then also shifting from its normalposition, shown in FIG. 3, through an intermediate valve position tothat position where the fluid is directed through line 518, pilotoperated check valve or lock out valve 520, and lines 522,540, 550to theanchor end of the second table cylinder 508. As the second tablecylinder is extended it will raise the table 200.

As the second table 200 swings upwardly due to the extension of thecylinder 508, the selector valve 524 will be shifted from the normalposition shown in FIG. 3 to its other position,

' causing displaced oil from the cylinder 508 to flow through relationto the bale wagon chassis structure, it is necessary to.

advance the rolling rack 300 to deposit a tier of bales on the secondtable 200. This is accomplished by extending the rolling rack cylinder528 which will cause the mid portion of cable 342 to move forwardly.

The cylinder 528 is controlled through a control lever 546 and variouscontrol valves 544 and 552. When the control lever 546 is shifted allthe way to the rear which is indicated position 1 in FIG. 3, the spoolsand valves 544 and 552 will likewise be shifted to the rear causingfluid under pressure to flow from the control valve 544 through line 554and valve 552 into line 556. As the rolling rack is advanced, theforwardmost tier of the bale stack will pass over a channel member 298at the forward end of assembly 254 and fall onto the second table 200assuming the position shown at D.

After the bale tier has fallen onto the transfer table 200, the rollingrack is stopped and a motor 560, which drives the cross conveyor 350 isstarted. This is accomplished by shifting lever 546 to an intermediaterear position indicated position 2 in FIG. 3, so that the spool withinvalve 552 is shifted to its normal forward position, as shown in FIG. 3,while the spool within valve 544 is maintained in its rearward position.Fluid now flows from line 554 through valve 552 into line 558 and thento rotary hydraulic motor 560. Oil is discharged from motor 560 throughline 562 into reservoir 514. The motor 560 has an output shaft 564 whichis connected in driving relationship to a sprocket, not shown, 'overwhich the conveyor chain line 526 and second table control valve 516back into reservoir 514. As the table 200 attains its fully raisedposition it will set the tier of bales formed on the second table on theforward end of the load rack or bed as represented by the broken linebales C in FIG. 1. When this occurs, the spool within the second tablecontrol valve 516 will be shifted, causing the flow of fluid withinlines 518 and 526 to be reversed, the fluid initially entering the rodend of the cylinder 508 and being discharged through the line 522, lockout valve 520, line 518, and valve 516 back to the reservoir 514.

After the table has descended partially, cam mechanism, not shown, willshift the valve 524 back to its normal position shown in FIG. 3 at whichtime flow from the pump 500 through the valve 516 will return toreservoir 514 through valve 524. However, the weight of the second tablewill continue to force the cylinder assembly 508 into its retractedposition displacing the fluid from the anchor end of the cylinderthrough lines 522 and 518 into the reservoir. It should be noted thatduring this stage of the operation, if pressure should fail within thesystem, lockout valve 520 will prevent the table from descending anyfurther.

As the tiers of bales are placed upon the load bed they will contact therolling rack 300 and force it rearwardly. As previously described, themovement of the rolling rack is controlled by cylinder 528, the rackbeing interconnected with the cylinder by means of a cable 342 whichextends around various sheaves described above. An intermediate portionof the cable between sheaves 342b and 3420 is fixedly secured to thetransverse frame member 314. As the tiers of bales are loaded onto theload bed the rolling rack will be shifted rearwardly.

During this operation, the principal purpose of the present invention isto provide means to prevent rearward movement of the rolling rack 300,except when the second table 200 is being elevated by cylinder 508. Thisis accomplished by including a lockout valve 530 in the system whichfunctions as follows:

In the normal holding position of the rolling rack 300, it is maintainedagainst movement rearwardly by cylinder 528. To accomplish this, fluidis maintained within the anchor end of the cylinder 528. This isaccomplished by means of a lockout valve 530, and fluid can only bedischarged from the cylinder 528 when there is fluid flow through thevalve 530. When there is no fluid flow to or from the cylinder 508 thereis no fluid flow to the lockout valve circuit 540, 550, and thus fluidcannot be discharged from the cylinder 528.

Fluid flows through the lockout valve 530 only when the cylinder 508 isbeing extended to transfer bales from the second table 200 to the loadbed 250. Thus, when the load bed 250 is being loaded and a fullcomplement of bales have been loaded onto the transfer table 200, tripmechanism, not shown but described in detail in Ser. No. 755,141, isoperated to shift control valve 516 from its nonnal position (shown inFIG. 3) to a position wherein pressure from line 510 is delivered toline 518 to the anchor end of the cylinder 508 to elevate the transfertable 200. At this time, line pressure exists in line 522 and istransferred by line 540 to lockout valve 530 to open it and to permitthe fluid to discharge from the anchor end of the cylinder 528 and topass through the line 556, lockout valve 530, and from there by means ofline 534 to reservoir 514. This arrangement continues until transfertable 200 has moved a new tier of bales tight up against the load orrolling rack 300 at which time valve 516 is again shifted to direct linepressure from pump 500 to line 510 to line 526 for application againstthe rod end of cylinder 508 to lower table 200 causing the flow of fluidin the line 550 to be reversed. Fluid from the anchor end of cylinder508 now flows through line 550, check valve 560 (bypassing lockout valve530), lines 540, 522 and 518, and control valve 516 to reservoir 514.Thus, the lockout valve 530 is closed to restore to a holding functionfor the rolling rack 300.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the bale wagon comprising thepresent invention is capable of being loaded with bales successively bythe same being received upon the receiving table 150, moved by the sameonto the transfer table 200 where a tier of the same has beenaccumulated, said tier is successively being moved by transfer table 200to a vertical position against the rolling rack 300 or the front face ofthe forwardmost tier previously deposited upon the load bed, and when acomplete load has been deposited upon the load bed such a stack may beunloaded by transferring the same successively to the transfer tablefrom which they are individually deposited upon the ground as the balewagon moves along, such as where stock is being fed and the like.Especially for details of the unloading function, attention is directedto said pending application Ser. No. 755,141, now US. Pat. No.3,502,238.

While the foregoing invention has been described in conjunction with abale wagon employing a single acting cylinder to advance the rollingrack, it should be noted that in another embodiment of this invention adouble acting cylinder is employed to move the rolling rack forwardlyand rearwardly. In

this embodiment the discharge from the anchor end of the double-actingcylinder is controlled by substantially the same means set forth above.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to theparticular details, shown and described above, but that, in fact, widelydifferent means may be employed in the practice of the broader aspectsof the invention.

Having thus described my invention,.what I claim is:

1. A bale wagon adapted to be moved over a field to pick up bales andstack then in successive vertical layers upon the bed of the wagon andunload the same therefrom comprising in combination, means to arrange alur ality of bales in a tier, means to elevate said her into subsantially vertical position at the forward end of said bed against arolling rack carried by the bed of said wagon, means supporting saidrolling rack substantially perpendicularly relative to said bed, and afirst hydraulic cylinder unit adapted to permit movement of said rollingrack rearwardly toward the rear end of said bed of said wagon assuccessive tiers of bales are elevated onto said forward end of saidbed, in combination with a lockout valve connected by hydrauliccircuitry with said first hydraulic cylinder unit and operable to locksaid rolling rack against rearward movement upon said bed except when atier of bales is being elevated onto said bed and thereby permit thepreviously loaded tiers to move rearwardly upon said bed to accommodateanother tier of bales at the forward end of said bed while supportingsaid loaded tiers against movement beyond the rear end of said bed, anda second hydraulic cylinder unit operable to elevate tiers of bales uponthe bed of the wagon, a fluid circuit to and from said second cylinderunit, said circuit being interconnected to the circuit of said lockoutvalve and fluid from the circuit of said second hydraulic cylinder beingadapted to move said lockout valve to open position by pressure in saidfluid circuit when elevating a tier of bales and thereby permit rearwardmovement of said rolling rack.

2. The bale wagon according to claim 1 in which said first hydrauliccylinder unit comprises a piston movable in opposite directions andwherein the movement in one direction permits rearward movement of saidrolling rack and said lockout valve being included in the fluid linefrom the discharging end of said cylinder which permits said rearwardmovement, whereby when said rolling rack is to be locked againstrearward movement said lockout valve is closed to prevent discharge offluid from said end of said cylinder.

3. The bale wagon according to claim 1 funher including means to closesaid lockout valve to lock said rolling rack against rearward movementsubstantially at the conclusion of elevation of a tier of bales upon thebed of the wagon.

4. The bale wagon according to claim I further including a fluidreservoir in the hydraulic system, said reservoir being connected in thefluid circuitry and operable when the cylinder which operates therolling rack is conditioned to permit the rolling rack to moverearwardly to discharge fluid from one end of said cylinder whichactuates said rolling rack and pass it through the lockout valve to saidreservoir.

5. The bale wagon according to claim 4 further including a check valvein the line to said lockout valve from said second cylinder unit andoperable to permit movement of fluid past said lockout valve when saidvalve is closed and thereby discharge fluid to said reservoir.

* IF 10K

1. A bale wagon adapted to be moved over a field to pick up bales andstack then in successive vertical layers upon the bed of the wagon andunload the same therefrom comprising in combination, means to arrange aplurality of bales in a tier, means to elevate said tier intosubstantially vertical position at the forward end of said bed against arolling rack carried by the bed of said wagon, means supporting saidrolling rack substantially perpendicularly relative to said bed, and afirst hydraulic cylinder unit adapted to permit movement of said rollingrack rearwardly toward the rear end of said bed of said wagon assuccessive tiers of bales are elevated onto said forward end of saidbed, in combination with a lockout valve connected by hydrauliccircuitry with said first hydraulic cylinder unit and operable to locksaid rolling rack against rearward movement upon said bed except when atier of bales is being elevated onto said bed and thereby permit thepreviously loaded tiers to move rearwardly upon said bed to accommodateanother tier of bales at the forward end of said bed while supportingsaid loaded tiers against movement beyond the rear end of said bed, anda second hydraulic cylinder unit operable to elevate tiers of bales uponthe bed of the wagon, a fluid circuit to and from said second cylinderunit, said circuit being interconnected to the circuit of said lockouTvalve and fluid from the circuit of said second hydraulic cylinder beingadapted to move said lockout valve to open position by pressure in saidfluid circuit when elevating a tier of bales and thereby permit rearwardmovement of said rolling rack.
 2. The bale wagon according to claim 1 inwhich said first hydraulic cylinder unit comprises a piston movable inopposite directions and wherein the movement in one direction permitsrearward movement of said rolling rack and said lockout valve beingincluded in the fluid line from the discharging end of said cylinderwhich permits said rearward movement, whereby when said rolling rack isto be locked against rearward movement said lockout valve is closed toprevent discharge of fluid from said end of said cylinder.
 3. The balewagon according to claim 1 further including means to close said lockoutvalve to lock said rolling rack against rearward movement substantiallyat the conclusion of elevation of a tier of bales upon the bed of thewagon.
 4. The bale wagon according to claim 1 further including a fluidreservoir in the hydraulic system, said reservoir being connected in thefluid circuitry and operable when the cylinder which operates therolling rack is conditioned to permit the rolling rack to moverearwardly to discharge fluid from one end of said cylinder whichactuates said rolling rack and pass it through the lockout valve to saidreservoir.
 5. The bale wagon according to claim 4 further including acheck valve in the line to said lockout valve from said second cylinderunit and operable to permit movement of fluid past said lockout valvewhen said valve is closed and thereby discharge fluid to said reservoir.